Jelena’s Review of Marvel’s Star Wars #22

StarWars22-Cover

Story by Jason Aaron

Art by Jorge Molina

Colors by Matt Milla

 

  • The Star Destroyer Harbinger, a massive weapon of Imperial war.
  • Also the target of the rebels’ new top-secret plan.
  • Join Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Leia Organa for “The Last Flight of the Harbinger”!

 

We haven’t seen our main heroes – Luke, Han and Leia – since issue #19 when they managed to stop the incursion into the Sunspot Prison. After a break that took us to Tatooine and Ben Kenobi (issue #20) and into the heart of elite stormtrooper unit (issue #21), we are now back with our favorite Rebels.

 

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The story opens with a massive space battle – Rebel’s attempt to take over the Star Destroyer Harbinger. Luke is flying his X-Wing, while Han and Leia are attempting to bomb the Destroyer. It’s a ballsy plan at the very least and probably idiotic as the Imperials think. If this scene proves anything, that is that Han and Leia can bicker even in the direst of situations.

 

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Leia manages to hit the engine reactor making the opening for the Rebel fighters. But, Luke takes it one step further. He takes his X-Wing into the Star Destroyer.

 

The crew of the Millennium Falcon – Han, Leia, Sana and Chewbacca – follows his example and board the Harbinger. It seems that they are trying to secure the reactor while the Imperials are evacuating. It appears that they have failed and that Harbinger exploded.

 

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The Admiral who has abandoned the ship gets the dreaded call – from Vader himself.

 

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The story moves to a week later. The Imperial patrol is looking for some ships and pilots that disappeared, but they are taken out themselves – by Harbinger. The Rebels had jettisoned the failing reactor into the space. The explosion covered up their escape – with the Star Destroyer.

 

The ship is running on backup engine and skeleton crew. They are trying to repair hyperdrive to take the ship somewhere that, according to Luke, might be Harbinger’s last flight. Wherever they are taking it and whatever they are planning, it’s very likely, if not certain, that they will encounter Sargent Kreel and his elite stormtroopers.

 

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More than previous issue which is actually first in this arc, this one feels like a set-up issue. The action dominates the single story point – the stealing of the Star Destroyer. It is still refreshing, because we don’t see much of the Rebellion’s initiative – in the movies, they are pretty much always reactionary. This time, they have a daring plan and a major goal, but the faith of the galaxy does not depend on it, like in A New Hope or Return of the Jedi. And they manage to pull it out.

 

We also get a few interesting character beats. As I already mentioned, Han and Leia are firmly moving towards the level of banter and bickering we will see in The Empire Strikes Back. Luke’s confidence has visibly grown and he proved once again that his piloting skills are growing as well. He also seems to act as a piece maker between Han and Leia. Sana is still hanging out with our heroes. Perhaps their past isn’t the only thing she has in common with Han. Maybe there is a room for cause under her tough exterior.

 

Molina has a flair for drawing space battles, but I didn’t like how he draws faces. I am not one of those people who need hyper-realistic drawing, but I want my characters to at least look like themselves. If it wasn’t explicitly mentioned in the issue, I wouldn’t have even connected the pilot that got a couple of close-ups with Wedge.

 

All in all, this was a solid issue that might take us down some interesting paths, but, as I said, it was more of an introduction to the main story line. If you are following the comic regularly, you will enjoy it, but this is not a good point to start reading if you are a newcomer. Pick up the previous one as it can be read as a standalone or wait for a couple more issues. In any case, we are bound to find out more in…

 

THE NEXT ISSUE:

 

Star Wars 23-Cover

 

• The rebels have pulled off the impossible…they’ve stolen a Star Destroyer.
•  But why? To what end? Can they hold her together?
•  And who’s in charge of this madness, anyway – Han or Leia?

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Staff member, comic and book reviewer. Cheers for the Light Side, but would drink with Grand Admirals.

Jelena Bidin (LadyMusashi)

Staff member, comic and book reviewer. Cheers for the Light Side, but would drink with Grand Admirals.

10 thoughts on “Jelena’s Review of Marvel’s Star Wars #22

  • August 24, 2016 at 10:03 pm
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    I seem to recall in Lost Stars the mentioned no Star Destroyer has ever been captured. This and Life Debt have blown that out of the water, looks like a hole in the new cannon.

    • August 24, 2016 at 10:22 pm
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      Or just Imperial propaganda? Plus, Lost Star happens before and after this comic.

      • August 24, 2016 at 10:27 pm
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        It was at the end of Lost Stars when they were trying to capture the Star Destroyer for the Rebellion, they made a comment about what a big prize it would be given none had been successfully captured.

    • August 24, 2016 at 11:50 pm
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      Also shouldn’t han remembered how to pilot the star destroyer in life debt after this happened?

  • August 24, 2016 at 10:05 pm
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    The art has been really hit and miss in new Marvel series. The fucking eyes on the characters here are huge. Did all the characters take too much speed or is it the end of total recall?

  • August 24, 2016 at 10:36 pm
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    Ughh?!! Wtf is up with the art it looks like shit!! I loved the art of the first volume. It was the best and most accurate Star Wars style

  • August 24, 2016 at 11:20 pm
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    I, on contrary, really love Jorge Molina’s style. best looking Marvel SW easily so far

    • August 24, 2016 at 11:23 pm
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      The ships and the scenery look amazing. The people…yikes!

  • August 26, 2016 at 10:30 am
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    “the faith of the galaxy does not depend on it”… Faith or fate? I think this is not the first time I read this mistake on this page… It also appears on Kanan’s article

  • August 28, 2016 at 10:36 pm
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    How the hell are we supposed to buy that a few Rebels can maneuver a MASSIVE carrier that’s bigger than a city on Jedah? It’s a little over-the-top IMO.

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